The Royal Way: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Royal Way: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the complex relationships and motivations of its main characters against the backdrop of an archaeological journey in Cambodia. The protagonist, Claude Vannec, is an ambitious archaeologist seeking professional and financial success, as well as a deeper understanding of himself. His quest is influenced by his admiration for nonconformist figures, particularly Perken, a seasoned adventurer who embodies the qualities Claude aspires to. Perken's leadership and resilience are pivotal in the journey, but his fate takes a tragic turn after a severe injury, highlighting themes of mortality and the limits of human endurance.
Another significant character is Grabot, a former army deserter whose unfortunate capture by the Moi tribesmen serves as a counterpoint to the adventure narrative, illustrating the darker realities of colonial encounters. Albert Rameges, the intellectual director of the French Institute, serves as a voice of caution, emphasizing the ethical dilemmas surrounding Western exploration and exploitation. Lastly, Xa, Claude's native manservant, adds another layer of complexity, as he navigates his own turbulent past within the colonial framework. Together, these characters drive a narrative that questions the motivations behind exploration and the personal journeys that ensue.
The Royal Way: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: André Malraux
First published: La Voie royale, 1930 (English translation, 1935)
Genre: Novel
Locale: French Somaliland, French Indochina, and Siam
Plot: Adventure
Time: The 1920's
Claude Vannec (klohd vah-NEHK), an ambitious young archaeologist. He sets out to explore the Royal Way in the jungles of Cambodia and to profit professionally and financially from his discoveries. Intense, impatient, and in revolt against the banality and conformity of bourgeois existence, Claude is also intent on affirming his own manhood on the journey. Obsessed with nonconformist, virile men, whom he wishes to emulate, Claude meditates on his father and grandfather and is drawn to Perken, whom he meets in a Djibouti brothel. It is Perken who shapes Claude's ideas about women, sensuality, and, finally, the meaning of death. Under Perken's influence, Claude comes to consider the journey less an archaeological mission than a voyage of self-discovery.
Perken (pehr-KAHN), an experienced, graying, Danish-German adventurer who accompanies Claude on his archaeological treasure hunt along the Royal Way. It is Perken who insists on continuing the journey into the jungle to seek out the Dutch adventurer's former comrade, Grabot. Perken is an extraordinarily complex individual, combining energy, endurance, and a will of steel with an acute and flexible intelligence capable of understanding individuals and cultures very alien to him. This unique combination of qualities makes Perken a compelling and powerful figure. In the past, it had allowed him to gain ascendance over the native tribes and establish a personal empire in the jungles of Indochina. Perken's empire-building made him a living legend among his fellow Europeans, especially Claude, who considers him to be everything that a man should be. In the jungles with Claude, Perken proves himself to be courageous as well as resourceful, but these qualities ultimately fail to protect him. Perken accidentally wounds his leg on a poisoned stake put in the ground by the natives. The leg becomes gangrenous; because there is no one available to amputate it, Perken ultimately dies of his wound.
Grabot (gra-BOH), an army deserter and, like his friend Perken, an adventurer intent on creating his own empire in the jungle. At the outset of the novel, Grabot has disappeared. Perken and Claude resolve to find him after completing their journey along the Royal Way. When they locate him, he is the captive of Moi tribesmen. Blinded and no longer able to speak, he has been reduced to the status of a beast of burden, endlessly working a treadmill.
Albert Rameges (ahl-BEHR rah-MEHZH), the director of the French Institute in Saigon, an intellectual who is interested in Claude's work but who suspects the young man's mercenary motives. He warns him of the dangers of the journey and attempts to dissuade him from making it. Rameges also informs Claude that he is not to remove any statuary from the jungle, an order the latter chooses to ignore.
Xa (zhah), Claude's native manservant on the journey. He has just been released from prison and has a bad reputation with the colonial authorities.